Tying Loose Ends
by Kitsune-san
Summary: Fight demons? As if getting through school wasn't hard enough for a girl! Oh well, at least Kokoro has her magical guardian, Nishiki to protect her! A continuation to the short story "N" is for Nishiki by Yukiru Sugisaki
1. Summary for N is for Nishiki

Tying Loose Ends

Hello everybody! This fic is actually a continuation of a short story by Yukiru Sugisaki called "N" is for Nishiki, which can be found at the back of the TokyoPop manga D.N.Angel vol. 1. I don't know whether the author ever actually continued the story or not, so this is my idea of how it could be continued. But first, for those of you that haven't read the story, here's a (not-so-brief) summary of it; if you are familiar with the story, you can click to Chapter 1.

Note: Don't be scared off if you're reading the summary! The chapters are written a lot better

Summary of "N" is for Nishiki

5th grader Kokoro Nagahara and her big brother Kodama live alone, since their parents disappeared long ago. But their family has the ability to summon shikigami (projections of magic that take the form of a creature, animal, or human that act as guardians/servants to their summoners). Kodama's shikigami is a girl named Kujyo who appears the same age as him and has a small symbol on her cheek. Kodama is always harsh towards Kokoro, since she practices summoning shikigami every day but can't seem to get a decent one. Their family is vulnerable to demonic attacks, so he just wants her to get a good shikigami for her own protection. But Kokoro doesn't act as seriously and just calls him "mean".

Right before school starts one day, Kokoro meets up with her friend Kaname (who is a boy). A girl named Misaki then rudely bumps into Kokoro. Misaki apparently hates her guts because Misaki likes Kaname and he and Kokoro always hang out together. Then during school, Kokoro and Misaki meet up in the hallway and start to argue furiously, leading up to Misaki saying, "I wish you would just disappear!". Then Misaki gives an evil glare and Kokoro starts getting swallowed by darkness. While she struggles, things that her brother has said to her start flashing through her mind, about how she must learn how to summon a shikigami. She screams for someone to help her, and just in time a boy with spiky blonde hair dressed in ancient Japanese combat clothes drops into the picture, draws out the demon from Misaki and saves Kokoro. He says his name is Nishiki, and he comes in three sizes ;;. Kokoro freaks out and Nishiki explains that he is a shikigami that she summoned, and he thanks her for "picking him" by kissing her hand, and then licks it, which makes a small symbol appear on his cheek. Of course Kokoro screams and slaps him. ;

Later, Nishiki tries explaining that he had to have "part of her being" to complete their bond so they'd always be together, and that's why he licked her, and the symbol is proof of their bond. Kokoro screams that she doesn't want to be "always together" and that she doesn't need him. Nishiki looks hurt and says he'll leave her alone then, and Kokoro realizes she never thanked him for saving her after he disappears.

The next day of school is parent's day, but Kokoro is mad/sad because she has no one. Suddenly Nishiki's voice says, "I'm here for you so, do your best." Kokoro tears up and says okay and thanks him for saving her, and also apologizes for being mean to him. Just then Kodama stumbles in the room, and although late, Kokoro's glad he came for her.

After school, Kokoro tells Kaname about her big brother coming to parent's day and about Nishiki. Then Misaki pops up and asks Kaname if he'd like to walk home with her, and Kokoro says he can go ahead. Misaki then apologizes about their argument, and Kokoro concludes that she's not so bad. But when she tries to talk to Nishiki about it and he doesn't answer, she panics and runs home. When her brother learns what's going on, he keeps telling her she won't find him, but Kokoro insists that she won't stop looking till she finds him, and that she does need him. She then notices a bunny plush toy with that same strange symbol on his cheek, so she grabs it and starts yelling at it. Nishiki says, "Calm down, I just thought this way, you wouldn't notice me.. I'm sorry, am I still in the way?" Kokoro smiles and says no and hugs the cute plushie Nishiki and says, "Nishiki.. always stay with me.." Nishiki thinks, 'In that case..' and then he pops back to boy form, 'I'll be changing back now', and he tries to hug the severely blushing Kokoro back, but gets punched in the jaw.

The End!

Sorry if that was a rather extensive summary, but it really is a very cute story. And I really loved the Nishiki/Kokoro possible couple, so that's why I wanted to do a continuation for their relationship... Well, what're you waiting for? Click to Chapter 1!


	2. 1 Bubble Trouble

Chapter 1: Bubble Trouble

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

An arm slipped out from under the covers feeling around for the source of the noise until she finally got a hold of it.

"Shut up already..!" the girl said from under the covers as she turned the alarm clock off and retreated back under the covers. But suddenly she felt the covers being slowly removed, and so she lazily opened her eyes, only to see the smiling face of a boy with spikey blonde hair.

"Kokoro, good mooorning!"

"AAAAAAAHHH!"

"Ow! Why'd you have to do that?"

A blushing Kokoro composed herself and got out of bed. "Nevermind, just don't try that while I'm in the shower." A vein was popping out of her head as she gathered her school clothes and walked out of her room, closing the door behind her.

"Geez, is that any way to treat your guardian? She always punches me.." Nishiki grumbled to himself, rubbing his poor cheek.

"Geez, Nishiki always surprises me like that.." she said, pulling her night shirt off over her head. The thought angered her a bit, but then she smiled and blushed. "Nishiki..."

"What?"

Kokoro's eyes widened as she just stared in shock at the blinking boy.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!"

BOOOMMMM! And Nishiki went flying out the door.

Kokoro's entire face was like a tomato as she breathed heavily in anger and tried to cover her barely clothed body at the same time.

After she was done changing into her school clothes, Kokoro went back into her bedroom to get her backpack and do her hair. She seemed to pay no mind to Nishiki, who was looking a bit cross as he sat Indian style on her bed.

"Hey.. Why'd you hit me so hard?.."

"...WHY! BECAUSE YOU'RE A PERVERT, THAT'S WHY!"

"What'd I do? You said my name and I just thought you needed my help or something!"

"Nishiki..!" Kokoro started blushing again as she looked down and shook her fist, but then she noticed the time on the clock. "Oh! I don't have time for this, I'm gonna be late!" She quickly tied her long black hair into pig tails and grabbed her stuff and ran out the door, but then looked back inside her room. "Aren't you coming?"

"I thought you were mad at me.." Nishiki had a sad puppy dog look on his face, and Kokoro rolled her eyes and blushed a bit.

"It's okay, I forgive you.. Now come on or I'll be late!"

As Kokoro got to the sidewalk, she turned towards Nishiki, who was floating beside her.

"Hey, shouldn't you walk instead of float? It would be bad if people saw you like that.."

At that Nishiki floated downwards until his feet reached the ground and he could walk. "At your command, my beautiful Mistress."

Kokoro smiled and looked away as she felt her cheeks warm up. 'Nishiki... He's been with me for three years already, but it seems like just yesterday he saved me from that demon that was in Misaki... Since then, any time a demon's tried to attack me, he always comes to the rescue. He can be a little annoying sometimes, but I'm sure he never means to be. He's always so nice to me, even after all the mean things I say or do to him..' Kokoro thought to herself. "Um.. Nishiki..?"

"Hm? What is it?" Nishiki had his hands folded at the back of his head while he walked.

"..Sorry.. For hitting you so hard this morning.."

"Oh, that's okay! You do that all the time anyways so I'm pretty used to it by now," he said, almost jokingly.

Kokoro's expression showed that she was clearly hurt by what he just said, but she turned slightly so he couldn't see it. "... Also... I-"

"Kokoro! Nishiki!"

"K-Kaname! Misaki..!" Kokoro was rather startled when she was cut off by Kaname's voice. She was even more surprised when she noticed that Kaname and Misaki were holding hands. Well, not surprised, just strangely taken aback..

When Kokoro and Nishiki approached the two, Kokoro just couldn't help asking, "Um.. Are you two going out or something..?" She felt very awkward asking.

Kaname laughed and stratched the back of his head. "Ahaha, yeah, we are. I see you're as sharp as ever Kokoro! Ahaha!"

Kokoro tried to laugh along as best she could, but what came out was a sort of weak giggle instead. Maybe it was because she had been friends with him for so long that it just seemed weird that he had a girlfriend.. It was even weirder considering that she and Misaki had become good friends over the years.. But even so.. After a moment of letting it sink in, Kokoro finally smiled. "I'm glad for you two."

"So tell me how it happened Kaname! How'd you guys finally start going out?" Kokoro asked as they continued walking to school.

"Hehe, well, actually, Misaki's the one who asked me out, and of course I said yes!" Kaname smiled to Misaki as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and brought her close. Misaki just blushed out of embarrassment.

Kokoro smiled at the two, but then blushed and turned her head slightly towards Nishiki, who looked clueless as always.

"Hey, we're here! Looks like we made it just in time!" Kaname announced.

"Oh.. I guess you can change now Nishiki.." Kokoro said, still blushing a bit.

"Okie dokie! I'll be rooting for you as always!" Nishiki said, winking, and then he popped into plush-mode.

Kokoro smiled warmly at the cute stuffed bunny, and then carefully put him into her backpack. Only Kaname and Misaki knew about Nishiki, so while she was at school, Nishiki always stayed in the form of a plush toy so he could watch over her during class.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, Kokoro!" said one of her classmates. "Oh, you still carry that toy around?" the girl asked, pointing at the stuffed bunny sticking out of Kokoro's backpack.

"Uh, hehehe, ya."

"Don't you think you're a little too old for that sort of thing?"

"Uh, well, um, it's my good luck charm! Ehehehe.."

"Class! It's time to be in your seats!" the teacher said as he walked in. "Today starts the second semester of the 8th grade. Did you all remember to do your summer homework?"

"Yes Mr. Terada!" said the class in unison.

"Okay! After I take attendance we'll start grading the math drills."

'Alright! You'll be sure to get a 100 with my awesome answers!' Nishiki said in Kokoro's mind.

'Really? I didn't realize you were so smart! Thanks for doing them Nishiki.. With so much other homework I just didn't have time to do the drills..'

'Think nothing of it! And of course I'm smart, I'm a shikigami!'

"Okay, let's see.. The answer to #1 is.. 650.2," Mr. Terada announced.

Kokoro blinked in confusion. 'Uh.. Nishiki.. You got the wrong answer..'

'Impossible! The teacher must've gotten the wrong answer!'

"And #2 is.. 17.52," said Mr. Terada.

'Nishiki! That one was wrong too!' Kokoro decided to do the next one in her head. 'Let's see.. Nishiki! How can you get 100 when you subtract 347 from 892.4?'

'Well, it at least _looks_ right doesn't it? I didn't think it mattered what number you put down..'

'Of COURSE it matters! Ugh!' Kokoro started flipping through the answers Nishiki wrote. 'Eleventy-billion... I dunno... This is hard... I want a meatbun!' "NISHIKI!" The whole class turned towards Kokoro, who was strangling a bunny plush toy. "Ehehehehe! Um.. Excuse me!" With that, Kokoro dashed out the door with the plushie, leaving a confused classroom.

"Kokoro! What are you thinking? Yelling out in class like that.."

"IT'S YOUR FAULT! I thought you said you could do the math drills!"

Nishiki popped back into boy form. "But I did do them."

"With completely wrong answers! You're just lucky we get to go over the answers before we turn them in!"

"Well..."

"WELL!"

Nishiki folded his arms. "...You should've done your homework sooner."

"NISHIKI..!" WHACK!

"Ow!"

Kokoro sighed. "Ugh, what a day.. And they always give us so much homework even on our first day back.."

"Tell me about it!" said Kaname. Kokoro, Nishiki, Kaname and Misaki were walking home together, as usual. "Well, here's where we split. See you guys tomorrow!" Kaname said waving with one hand, and Misaki's hand in the other.

"Bye Kaname, Misaki!" Kokoro waved back, along with Nishiki. Kokoro sighed. "I hardly even get to see Kaname any more, he's always with Misaki instead." She smiled. "But I really am glad they finally got together."

"Ya, even I was thinking it was about time! Those two are obviously crazy about each other," Nishiki said in a carefree tone. Kokoro turned to Nishiki and just stared at his face while they walked. When Nishiki noticed he was being stared at, he turned to face her. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Kokoro blushed. "N-No!" Nishiki observed Kokoro, who looked rather shy all of a sudden, but then looked back ahead, shrugging it off. "Um... Nishiki... Can I ask you a question..?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Um... Nishiki... W-What do you think... about me..?"

Nishiki turned back to her with a questioning look. "Why would you ask that?"

"Just... wondering..." Kokoro was doing her best to conceal her face, which was deep crimson right now.

Nishiki never took his eyes off her. Instead, he just smiled thoughfully and said, "I think you've got a beautiful heart." At that, Kokoro turned and looked him back in the eyes. Nishiki nudged her chin with the side of his index finger gently. "AND face. You've always got such cute pink cheeks."

Kokoro seemed lost in a daze from looking at and listening to him, but she quickly snapped out of it and returned to shy mode, staring back at the oh-so-interesting concrete sidewalk. "... Nishiki... There's something I've been wanting to tell you..."

"Kokoro! There you are! Take out this trash for me will you? Kujyo and I are heading out to the store for some groceries."

"B-Big brother!" Without realizing it, they had already reached the house. 'Stupid big brother... You'll pay for this..!' Kokoro thought angrily to herself as she hauled the huge, stinky trash bag towards the big garbage bin.

"Kokoro, here, let me help," said Nishiki.

"No, that's alright, I've got it.." Kokoro sighed in relief when she had finished- the bag was quite heavy.

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"N-Nothing! Um! I've got to go.. take a bath! You know, after touching that dirty trash and all.. Ehehehe..!" At that, Kokoro ran inside. A question mark popped out of Nishiki's head, but he soon followed.

When the tub was full, Kokoro turned the handle until the water stopped. She then slid into the warm bubble bath, resting her head on the edge. She sighed and closed her eyes. 'What's wrong with me? Why is it so hard to tell him? For some reason I act as though it's some kind of big deal... I just wanted to tell him that I really do like him... even though he might not know it, especially because I keep hitting him all the time... But why do I blush so easily? Do my cheeks always turn red when I look at Nishiki?... Is there something more to it...?'

As Kokoro was lost in her thoughts, her already bubbly bath started quietly bubbling near the other end of the tub. The bubbling gradually increased, but Kokoro didn't notice it until...

"EEK!" Something was tugging at Kokoro's foot. "W-Where'd all these bubbles come from?" Suddenly she felt her head being pushed down under the water, but luckily she fought it and came up for air just in time. "Wha.. What the..." When she surfaced, she was staring a skull in the face. "Ni... NISHIKIIII!"

In no time, Nishiki barged through the door. "Yikes! Kokoro, you're naked! I don't wanna get hit!"

"Nevermind that! HELP!" Luckily there were so many bubbles in the tub that Kokoro was covered.

Upon seeing Nishiki, the creature caused the water to make a big splash, and when the water cleared, Nishiki was face to face with what looked like a skeleton wearing a kimono of water. On the top of the skull was long back hair. "A shikigami?"

"That's right ugly! And who, or what are you? And why do you smell so bad?" Nishiki covered his nose with his hand.

The creature spoke with the voice of a woman. "Who I am does not concern you, boy!" At that the creature extended its boney hand and shot a ball of energy at Nishiki, blowing him against the wall. It then turned back towards Kokoro and started laughing evilly as it walked closer.

"AAHH! NISHIKI HELP!"

Nishiki quickly shrugged off the pain of the blow once he heard Kokoro's cries. "Don't you dare hurt her!" Nishiki charged towards the creature and tried to swipe at it, but nothing happened. His hand just went right through it. So he tried to hit it with magic, but that didn't affect it either.

"Ha.. There's nothing you can do to harm me..! All you can do is watch as I kill this wretched girl!" At that, the creature shot another, bigger energy ball at Nishiki, hurling him back against the wall. "Ko... Kokoro..."

"Nishiki! NISHIKI! Oh no.. What'll I do..?" Kokoro said, panicking as the creature drew closer once again.

"Kokoro..! It's an evil spirit! A high density ghost!" said Nishiki.

"It is? Then why's it attacking me?"

"Don't act like you don't remember, Momiji Masaki!" said the ghost.

"Mo.. Momiji? My name isn't Momiji, it's Kokoro Nagahara!"

"You lie! There is no mistake! I'd recognize that face anywhere!"

"But why? Why do you want to kill me so badly!"

"Because you are the one who murdered me!"

"What..?"

"Long ago.. In the summer of 1789, you, Momiji, were my greatest enemy.. Then one day, out of nowhere, you came and stabbed me with a daggar and then pushed me into the Aoi River, leaving me to drown... How can you not remember that!"

"Get with the times, you old hag! This is 2004! I think you're a couple centuries behind!" Nishiki said, now standing up with a smirk.

"Nishiki..." Kokoro said, now at a loss for words.

"Kokoro! I can't do anything about this, but you can!" Nishiki threw her a towel.

"W-What? Me?"

"Yup. Aside from summoning shikigami, your family deals with spiritual stuff and exorcisms, right?"

"Well ya, but I've never actually tried to do one..."

"Well then this'll be your first one! I know you can do it Kokoro!" Nishiki winked and gave her the thumbs up.

Kokoro nodded with determination and then looked back towards the ghost, who was walking towards her with a dagger. Kokoro tied the towel around her body and then put her hands together and closed her eyes as she quietly recited some kind of incantation. Soon the ghost started glowing.

"Wha.. What's happening to me! I can't move!" the ghost shouted.

After Kokoro finished the incantation, she stood up and looked at the ghost with compassionate eyes. "...You were in love, weren't you?"

"...Yes... Momiji was always jealous of me!.."

Kokoro smiled thoughtfully. "It's okay... He's waiting for you.."

"He.. He is..?"

Kokoro nodded, and the ghost just stared at her for a moment, but finally looked down and dropped the dagger. Kokoro closed her eyes once again. "...Spirit! Be cleansed and depart peacefully into the nextus of worlds!" Kokoro spread her arms apart, and suddenly a great wind came from the ghost as it glowed brighter and brighter until it vanished with a sparkle. As the wind died, Kokoro slumped down, exhausted, and wiped off the beads of sweat from her forehead. "Phew! That was hard!"

Nishiki ran over to her. "Kokoro! Wow! That was awesome!"

"Heh, well, naturally.." Kokoro blushed and suddenly remembered that all she was dressed in was a towel. "Ehehe! Okay, Nishiki! Time to get out!" Kokoro said, pushing Nishiki out the door.

"What? Hey, wait!" Nishiki tried to protest, but his hand accidentally slipped in the wrong place, causing Kokoro's towel to fall off.

"NISHIKI, YOU PERVERT!"

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!

Kokoro had kicked him so hard he literally flew through the roof.

"Owww... What did I dooooooooo..?"

So, what'd ya think? Reviews are welcome!


	3. 2 C is for Competition!

Chapter 2: "C" is for Competition!

"Man, what a drag! We've got so much homework again!" said a classmate of Kokoro's. Hitomi was her name. "Hm? Is that a bandage on your toy bunny's head?"

Kokoro glanced at Nishiki, who now had a vein popping out of his head. "Ehehehe! Uhhh, ya! Umm.. Some stuffing started coming out of its head and I didn't have time to fix it this morning so I just put a bandage on it! Ya, that's right, ehehe.."

Hitomi stared at the plush toy with a quizzical expression.

"You're pretty good at lying on the spot, Kokoro.." said Nishiki, now in boy form. It was just Nishiki and Kokoro walking home, since Misaki and Kaname had gone off on a date.

"Ehehe.." Kokoro sweatdropped. The two walked in silence for a good few minutes before Kokoro stopped walking. "Nishiki..."

Nishiki turned. "Kokoro, what's wrong?"

Kokoro looked very hurt. "I'm so sorry.. I never mean to hit you so hard.. It's just an instinctive reaction, you know?.." Her head was low and her eyes were dark as she spoke.

"Kokoro... It's okay, I always forgive you, don't I?" Nishiki tried to smile, but it was difficult to do while seeing Kokoro looking so hurt.

"No.. It's not okay... Nishiki, I-.. W-WAH!" Kokoro was trying to take a step forward, but she tripped on a crack in the sidewalk.

Nishiki easily caught her. "Are you alright?"

Nishiki was slightly blushing, but Kokoro's face was completely red as she stared up at him. But for some reason, her body refused to move. Her chin and hands were resting comfortably on Nishiki's muscular chest, and Nishiki's arms were wrapped around her, his hands gently touching her back.

Finally, Kokoro slowly stood up straighter, but Nishiki's arms stayed where they were. All Kokoro could do was look into his eyes. "Nishiki... I.." Tears started forming in her eyes, which startled Nishiki.

"Kokoro, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Nishiki..!" Kokoro flung her arms around his neck, and a confused Nishiki wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. Kokoro was sobbing on his shoulder, but Nishiki decided to stay quiet. "Nishiki... I just wanted to tell you that I.. I really do like you! Even though I'm mean to you all the time..! For a while I was afraid you thought I didn't like having you around.. But that's not true!" Kokoro kept crying.

Nishiki took a moment to let what she had just said fully sink in, and then his lips softly curled into a smile. Instead of just holding her, he warmly embraced her back, which startled Kokoro. "I'm glad.."

The two remained standing on the sidewalk, happily in their embrace as the sun began to set in the distance.

As the two continued on their way home, they came across another duo- a boy in another school's uniform with brown hair and a girl who was dressed in clothes that resembled Nishiki's and had pink hair tied up in big pigtails. Both looked to be about Kokoro's and Nishiki's age.

"Huh?" The four said in unison.

Suddenly, the girl jumped up in the air with her arms spread out. "NISHIKI!" Then she jumped into Nishiki's arms and rubbed cheeks with him, and hearts were popping up all around her.

"H-HEY! Who is this girl!" Kokoro exclaimed. She couldn't quite name the emotion she was feeling at this point.

Nishiki grabbed the girl by the waist and set her down so he could get a good look at her face. "E-Eisha?"

Eisha grinned cutely. "Oh, Nishiki, I knew you wouldn't forget me!" She resumed hugging and rubbing cheeks with him.

Kokoro had a "disturbed" look on her face. "Now just wait a minute! Who the heck are you!"

Eisha kept her arms wrapped around Nishiki's neck. "I'm Eisha! A shikigami summoned by this boy, Fuuma!" She pointed towards the boy.

"H-How do you know Nishiki?"

Eisha smiled. "You must be the one who summoned Nishiki-"

"I am! My name's Kokoro Nagahara!"

"Nice to meet you! Well, back in the Rhelm of Shikigami, me and Nishiki were the BEST of friends! Lovers even!"

"Now HOLD on Eisha! YOU always thought that, but I never-!"

"Ohh Nishiki! How can you be soo mean? You know you love me!" Eisha hugged him closer and drew circles on his chest with her index finger.

"Eisha! You know that's not true, now get.. OFF of me!"

"Noo! I dun wanna!" Nishiki was trying to peel her off, but she just wouldn't give up.

All this time, Kokoro had just been standing there with her head low and eyes dark..

"Just what exactly is your relationship with that shikigami girl! And why did she say you were 'lovers'!"

"I told you! It's not true!"

"Then why was she all over you!"

Nishiki crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "I guess 'cause she has a big crush on me or somethin'.."

"...!" Kokoro was really pissed. "Geez.."

The two were in Kokoro's room, and it was almost 9 o'clock. 'Why do I hate that girl so much! Why am I so mad?.. Am I actually jealous?..'

"Kokoro! Nishiki! Time for lights out! You were planning to get up early right?" Kokoro's brother Kodama called from outside the door.

"Yeah! Goodnight big brother!"

"G'night guys." At that, Kokoro could hear him walk away.

"Kokoro, you're getting up early tomorrow? But it's the weekend," Nishiki questioned.

"Well..." Kokoro blushed. "I thought I'd make lunch so we could go on a picnic tomorrow.."

Nishiki stared at her for a moment, almost in disbelief, but then smiled. "I'd like that."

Kokoro smiled back at him, and then went to turn the lamp off. "Okay, Nishiki, we better get lots of sleep so we can wake up early tomorrow!"

"Right! G'night Kokoro," said Nishiki as he relaxed against a big red bean bag where he usually slept.

He always sat facing Kokoro, so when she turned to her side, she could see his already sleeping face. She then suddenly remembered the first night he had tried to sleep in the same bed as her.. Of course she punched him. So he had settled for sleeping on the bean bag instead.. 'He really is rather clueless and innocent.. the biggest airhead I've ever known.. But.. it's so cute...' Kokoro blinked and widened her eyes at her own thought. She sat up and shook her head. "Did I really just think that!"

"Think what?" Kokoro's commotion had woken Nishiki.

"N-Nothing, nothing! Ehehe.." Nishiki looked puzzled, but ignored it and relaxed back against the bean bag and closed his eyes. Kokoro was still sitting up, just looking at Nishiki.

Nishiki felt he was being stared at, so he opened one lazy eye. "What is it? I thought you said to get a lot of sleep tonight."

"U-Um..!" Kokoro blushed severely, but luckily it was dark and Nishiki couldn't see. "Would... Would you like to sleep with me..? I mean! On the bed.. You know, so you'd be more comfortable..?"

Nishiki blinked. Even though it was a little dark, he could still see how much she was blushing. "Kokoro... You never let me sleep on the bed before.."

"Um..! You don't have to if you don't want to! I just thought... Uh..!"

Before Kokoro could say another word, Nishiki was under the covers next to her, smiling slightly with his eyes closed. "Good night, Kokoro.." Not before long, Nishiki began to softly snore.

'He's already asleep..'

Kokoro's bed was fairly large, and even though there were now two people on it, there was still a lot of room left. Nishiki, being the gentleman he was, slept close to the edge, giving Kokoro the most room. But even so, Kokoro scooted not farther, but a little closer to Nishiki. She smiled and just lay there, shyly staring at Nishiki while he slept. She blushed, and for some reason her heart couldn't stop pounding. 'What are these strange feelings that Nishiki gives me? Sure, I've had crushes before, but this doesn't feel at all like a crush.. I can't quite put my finger on it.. Nishiki's my guardian, but I can't as easily label him as just a friend... Just what is he to me?'

"Ah! Noo... I can't eat any more..." Nishiki said in his sleep, drooling a little.

Nishiki's sudden little outburst had startled Kokoro out of her train of thought, but she was glad he did. She needed to get her sleep. She smiled and continued just gazing at Nishiki for a moment until her eyes slowly closed.

'I don't know what I feel for Nishiki.. But whatever it is.. It feels good.'

The next morning, Kokoro and Nishiki woke up early just as planned, and Nishiki even helped make lunch.

"Nishiki... You really didn't have to help cook... This is _my_ treat to _you_."

Nishiki was cutting some sandwiches. He turned and just stared at Kokoro for a moment before smiling and said casually, "Don't worry! I _want_ to help.. Besides, I'm your shikigami after all. Helping you is what I do."

Kokoro blushed and just turned around and kept cooking.

Kodama raised an eyebrow. Although he was sipping a cup of coffee and facing the other way, Kodama's eye was turned towards Kokoro. Even if she herself didn't know it, Kodama knew exactly how Kokoro felt for her shikigami. Anyways it was so plainly obvious..

'Kokoro and Nishiki are so cute together, don't you think, Master Kodama?' Kujyo said warmly in Kodama's mind.

'Maybe, that is, _if_ there will be a "together" with them.. Shikigami aren't as into the whole "love" concept like humans are.. Not all shikigami are like you, Kujyo.'

Kujyo smiled and blushed slightly at her master's last remark, and Kodama lightly smiled back.

'But... I cannot allow him to make her cry... If he does... I'll be forced to send him back into the Rhelm of Shikigami...' Kodama thought to himself, staring coldly at Nishiki as he cooked.

"Alright, big brother! We're leaving now!" Kokoro said while opening the front door.

"Okay! Be careful!" Kodama said back.

"We will be! Bye!"

Once the two were outside, Kokoro climbed onto her blue bike, and Nishiki sat behind her with the lunch. Once Nishiki was situated, Kokoro peddled forwards and headed for the nearby park.

When they arrived, they were surprised to not see that many people there. Usually on the weekends the park was packed. Kokoro and Nishiki got off the bike so they could enjoy walking through the park to their favorite picnic spot, which was by a fountain in the center of the park.

"The weather is so nice today, huh Nishiki?" Kokoro stretched her arms above her head and smiled.

"Ya, it sure is!" Nishiki said, also smiling.

After Nishiki laid a blanket on the grass near the fountain, they sat down and began eating. There was fried shrimp, octopus, and rice, tuna sandwiches, random veggies and orange soda- both Nishiki's and Kokoro's favorite lunch spread.

While Nishiki and Kokoro were sparring with their forks for the last fried shrimp, two familiar people suddenly walked into the picture.

"Nishiki!" the pink haired girl jumped on top of Nishiki, causing him to lose the shrimp war.

"Eisha!"

"Wow! How lucky that I get to see you again so soon! Ah! Fate must be calling us together!"

"AHEM..!" Kokoro butted in.

"Oh, you're the summoner girl, right?"

"Yes I am, so get off of Nishiki!" Kokoro pulled Nishiki by the arm away from her.

"Hey! Just because you're his mistress doesn't mean you get to keep him all to yourself!" Eisha then pulled him back by the other arm.

"Nishiki obviously doesn't like you so just leave us alone!" Kokoro pulled back. This whole time, Eisha's master Fuuma just stood there sweatdropping and Nishiki's eyes were little swirly circles from being the rope of a tug-of-war.

Eisha let go of Nishiki and folded her arms, looking away. "Humph! Like you've got a lot of room to talk! The only reason Nishiki deals with you is because you're his little life-line."

Kokoro's eyes widened. "What..?"

Eisha smirked evilly. "That's right. If you die, then Nishiki dies. That's the price of a shikigami bond. And shikigami need to be bonded to a human in order to live in the human rhelm. And that's why Nishiki kisses up to you!"

Kokoro turned to Nishiki with a sort of horrified look on her face. "Nishiki... Is that true..?"

"Well.. Yeah, but not the part about me only being with you because you're my life-line! Kokoro... I care about you." Kokoro still had a hurt look on her face, but she was really just sort of confused.

"Enough! I'll send you to another dimension, and then Nishiki will be all mine!" Eisha began laughing evilly.

"What!" Nishiki and Kokoro exclaimed in unison.

Before they knew what was going on, Eisha leapt into the air, and her hand started glowing. When she landed, it was as if she had ripped a hole in the air. She then fired a magic ball of energy out of her hand towards Kokoro, hurling her into the rip in space. Then the rift started glowing as it began to get smaller and smaller.

"KOKORO, NO!" Nishiki ran to it and tried to keep the rift from closing with his bare hands, but an electricity-like force field stopped him. When the rift closed completely, it disappeared with a small flash, along with Kokoro. Nishiki fell on his knees as tears fell down his cheeks. "Kokoro... No..." he said with an unstable voice.

"You need not worry about that annoying girl any more. Besides, she was just a human," said a victorious Eisha. Fuuma was just in disbelief as all this played out.

"You... How DARE YOU!" Nishiki shot back at her, his tear drops like flying sparkles in the sun.

"Uughh... Where... Where am I...?" Kokoro weakly opened her eyes, but all she could see was dark, cold, nothingness. "..Nishiki? Where are you?.." She hugged her legs until she was in the fetal position as tears started welling up in her eyes. She hated being alone.. "Nishiki.. Big brother.. Kujyo-san... There's no one here..."

Suddenly, memories began uncontrollably flooding her mind. The day her parents went missing... Kodama coming to Parent's Day... Kujyo's smiling face... Kaname and Misaki...

"My family and friends... I love them all so much..."

Then, in the distance of her mind, she could see a dark figure. "Who..?"

_I'll be rooting for you as always!... You've got a beautiful heart... I'm here for you... We'll always be together..._

At that, the dark figure became clear, and Nishiki's image shone through the darkness, though he was looking away.

"Nishiki..! ...I..."

_I do need him_..._ Always stay with me_..._ Just what is he to me?... Is there something more...?_

Nishiki turned and smiled. _"Kokoro!..."_

Kokoro's eyes shot open as every memory she had of Nishiki from the day she summoned him until the present replayed in her mind at light speed."... I... I love him... Nishiki! You're my most important person!"

At that, Kokoro's unconscious body shot back as she floated in the void, and then she started glowing with a bright light, which began shattering the dark space around her.

Back in park in the regular world where Nishiki still mourned, there suddenly came a bright light.

"Huh...?"

Finally, the invisible rift shattered, and from the bright light Kokoro appeared, still unconscious.

"Kokoro!"

"Th-That's impossible!" Eisha exclaimed.

Nishiki ran towards Kokoro, who was slowly floating downwards as the light around her dimmed. He easily caught her and the rift closed with a small flash once again.

"Feh.. Come on Fuuma, let's get outta here!" Eisha said angrily, grabbing her master by the arm and running off.

"Kokoro... Kokoro!.." Nishiki said gently.

Kokoro sleepily opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry at first, but a moment later she could clearly see Nishiki's worried face. "Nishiki..."

Nishiki slowly fell on his knees and hugged her tight. "Thank goodness!... I thought I had lost you!..."

Kokoro was surprised when she felt a small wetness on her shoulder. "Nishiki... You really care about me?... I'm not just a life-line to you...?"

Nishiki pulled away so he could look her straight in the eyes. "Of course you're not!... Kokoro, I really care about you..."

Kokoro could see that he had in fact shed tears for her. She blushed and smiled gently, and then slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and softly fell into an embrace as she closed her eyes. "...Thank you..."

While this was all happening, Kodama's dark figure silently watched from a distant tree...

Tada! That's chapter 2! Ah, the power of luv . But will our favorite shikigami be able to love Kokoro back? Chapter 3, on the way! Comments welcome!


	4. 3 Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 3: Dawn of Darkness

"Agh! That's cold!" Nishiki said happily after he had shoved a bunch of ice cream into his mouth. "Man, this place really does have the best ice cream huh Kokoro?" He said sloppily talking with his mouth full.

Kokoro was in a daze, just playing with her ice cream as she was more focused on watching Nishiki. It took her a moment before she finally snapped back to reality and realized he had just asked her something. "Oh! Sorry, did you say something?"

Nishiki eyed her curiously. "Kokoro, you've been acting kinda spacey lately. Is everything alright?"

She smiled nervously and shook her hands. "Of course, silly! Everything's fine."

Nishiki continued to look at her with suspicion for a moment. "Okay... If you say so.." Immediately after that he went back to scarfing his ice cream without mercy.

Kokoro sighed softly and continued to just stare at the shikigami. She _had_ been spacey a lot lately... The real problem? She couldn't get Nishiki out of her mind... Every time they were together, which was practically 24/7, she couldn't help just getting lost in gazing at his every actions. She had never been in love before, but it seemed the more she looked at Nishiki the deeper she was falling for him. Sure he was immature and goofy, but it strangely captivated her... Yeah... She loved it.

"Kokoro!"

She snapped back and blinked. Staring back at her were two huge, ugly bug-like eyes. "H-Huh..." Suddenly the monster growled and bore its mouth full of teeth. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

'Dear Diary... I'm literally going crazy out of boredom! Why else would I be writing in a diary! Usually on a week day I've got homework or chores to do, or Nishiki to talk to, but both the teachers and Kodama decided to give me a break today, and Nishiki's sleeping because he just got done fighting some really nasty demon that suddenly showed up at the ice cream parlor... About that; There have been more and more demons showing up these past few weeks, and poor Nishiki is tired from fighting so often... Nishiki...' After Kokoro wrote Nishiki's name, she started spacing out and doodled a little heart for the dot in the last "i". She turned from her desk towards the bed, where Nishiki was sleeping with his limbs all spread out. She got up and leaned close to the sleeping shikigami and gently brushed a stray blonde hair away from his eye. She had never got to really examine his face in the light before. Even though they were closed, she could never forget his pretty red eyes.. The strange marking on his cheek, symbolizing their eternal bond... His cute cheeks, and lips, which were slightly open as he slept... Her heart stopped... His lips... 'Should I..?' She was just itching to.. She had dreamed about the day they would finally kiss for days. 'Go for it! I might not get another chance like this again!...' So, very slowly, she leaned forward and closed her eyes.. Her heart was pounding, and after a moment, when their lips were only inches apart, she opened her eyes to make sure he was still sleeping. But she was shocked to see his big red eyes looking back into hers. He blinked, and she screamed and jumped back. "GAH! Nishiki!"

"Kokoro... What were you doing?"

Kokoro was redder than ever. "Um.. Um.. Um! I was.. um, I was...! Oh! That's right! I haven't taken a bath today, silly me! Gotta go!" With that she was gone.

Nishiki scratched his head in confusion. "What was that all about?"

'Geez, I can't believe myself! Usually I'm good at making something up in a hurry, but I couldn't think of anything!' Kokoro thought to herself as she relaxed in the bath. 'I've got to just tell him! Tell him..' Kokoro blushed, '..That I love him... But, even if I do, I don't have a clue what he'd say! I know he cares about me a lot, and he's always so nice to me even when I'm mean to him.. But still...' She hugged herself as she sank a little into the bath water and closed her eyes.

"Nishiki..."

The next day, Kokoro's school was having an athletics meet day, where all the kids would do various sports and exercises. Since Kaname and Misaki were in a higher grade than Kokoro, they went their separate ways at the school gate, and Nishiki transformed into his bunny plush form, which Kokoro held close to her heart instead of putting him in her backpack like she used to. 'It's funny... To think that I'm in love with this stuffed bunny!' Kokoro thought to herself, smiling down at Nishiki.

"What's up? You've been awfully smiley lately," Nishiki whispered.

"Have I?" Kokoro giggled.

Nishiki still didn't get what was going on. "Ah well, I'm just glad you're happy."

"I am..." Kokoro tightened her grip on Nishiki slightly.

In the school's track field was where Kokoro's class was at. There they were the first to practice pole vaulting.

"Yikes.. Looks kinda scary from here.." Kokoro said, clenching Nishiki close.

"Don't worry! You're pretty good at athletic stuff, so you'll be fine! Besides, I'm cheering for you!" said Nishiki.

Kokoro smiled. "Thanks, Nishiki."

"Alright! We'll go by last names starting from Z to A! So that makes.. Yamazaki! You're first up!" shouted Mr. Terada. The boy known as Kuroda Yamazaki walked up and grabbed a hold of the vaulting stick. "Okay, now I'll show you- Huh! Wait! Yamazaki!"

Before the teacher could even say another word, Yamazaki had vaulted in the air, and as he let go of the stick, he did a double twirl and a front flip, and landed perfectly on his feet as if it were the easiest thing to him. The whole class was just silent in disbelief, but then everyone started cheering. Kokoro and toy Nishiki just stood there and blinked.

"Can you believe that..?" Kokoro said, still in shock.

"I'm trying to, but it just don't add up! Yamazaki's gotta be the geekiest, most athletically challenged kid in your school!" Nishiki whispered back.

"Huh. Well isn't that strange.."

"Next up, Nagahara, Omura, Satsugi, Tsumoyuki, and Yamazaki!" called Mr. Terada. Kokoro's class was now doing the obstacle course.

'You're up, Kokoro! Do your best and blow all those other kids away!' Nishiki said in Kokoro's mind.

'I'll try.. Although I'm kinda nervous about being against Yamazaki... He was the best pole vaulter _and_ he beat everyone in basketball...' Kokoro smiled at him after she set him down, and then ran towards the starting line.

The teacher raised his hand. "On your marks! Get set! Go!"

At that, the five kids ran for the first obstacle. They had to push big, semi-heavy rubber balls through a curvy course without losing control of the balls. One girl fell and lost control of the ball, leaving four to go. The next obstacles were to run across a balance beam without falling, climb a ladder, go through a long set of monkey bars without falling, and then drop down and swim through a pool of foam squares. One girl fell off the balance beam and the other kid fell off the monkey bars, leaving only Kokoro and Yamazaki. But while Kokoro was still going through the monkey bars, Yamazaki was already in the foam squares. Unfortunately, after Kokoro finally got out of the foam squares, Yamazaki had already sprinted across the finish line.

"Aww! Too bad.. That Yamazaki kid was just too fast!" Nishiki said to himself, sad that Kokoro lost. 'But it's so weird... Just yesterday in P.E. he couldn't even do one sit-up! Something's just not right...' he thought to himself.

The next event was the 100 meter dash. First all the boys ran and then the girls. Kokoro sat on the sidelines holding Nishiki close as both had their eyes fixed on Yamazaki.

"On your marks! Get set!"

Nishiki gasped as he noticed a dark red aura suddenly emit from Yamazaki. 'What the..!'

'Nishiki, what is it?' Kokoro asked in his mind.

"Go!"

At that, all the boys took off. Since it was only 100 meters, the race was fairly short. All the girls gasped as Yamazaki crossed the finish line. He had badly beaten even the top football and cross country jocks.

Kokoro was nearly speechless. "Incredible..!"

'Kokoro, something's definitely not right about that kid... Right before the race started, I sensed something evil coming from him,' Nishiki said in Kokoro's mind.

'You don't suppose.. A demon?'

'I'm pretty sure, although I don't know why I didn't notice it before. Usually I can clearly see when someone's possessed by a demon.. Hmm... But how are we gonna get rid of it? I can't just fight out here where the whole school can see!'

Just then, Kokoro smirked as she got an idea. 'Don't worry, leave _that_ to me. Just wait until school's over and I'll work my magic..'

Nishiki blinked. '?'

As soon as school ended, Kokoro ran over to Yamazaki, put on her cute face and said, "Um.. Yamazaki? You were soo awesome out there today.. Would you like to walk home together?"

By now, Yamazaki was deep red in the face. "W-Why of course!" he said with a nervous tone. He had obviously never gotten this kind of attention from a girl before.

"Oh Yamazaki, you're so cute! Thank you soo much.." Kokoro sweet talked.

'Geez, you sure can act..' Nishiki said in Kokoro's mind, a little annoyed.

Kokoro blushed. 'Why do you sound so angry?'

'Dunno,' he said, still annoyed.

Kokoro just sweatdropped.

They walked and walked, until finally they passed the park. Nishiki thought this was as good of a place as any, so he transformed into boy-mode.

Yamazaki was kind of freaked out. "Huh?"

Suddenly, Yamazaki's eyes glowed red. _"A shikigami!"_

"That's right, and I'm takin' you out!" At that, Nishiki moved his hands in a magical formation and chanted something, and Yamazaki looked like he was struggling, but suddenly it seemed as if he had fought Nishiki's attack off.

_"Ahaha! You fool! You'll never be able to take me out using that level of magic!"_

"Aw man... Looks like that kid's made some kind of deal with that demon! No wonder I couldn't see it! But that means it'll be harder to take it out, and I just don't have the strength to use such magic right now.. The only other way to get rid of it is if the kid decides to break their deal!"

"No! I won't!" Yamazaki's eyes were now normal. "With this demon inside me I'll finally be strong and popular! I won't break our agreement!"

_"Hehe, good boy, Yamazaki.."_

Kokoro looked a little sad after she had heard what Yamazaki had said.. She felt guilty, for she suddenly remembered times where she had ignored him because he wasn't "cool" enough, or she had called him a geek behind his back. But after talking to him on their walk home together, she had learned that he was actually a really nice person to hang around with. "Yamazaki..." Kokoro started walking towards him, and he just had a questioning look to him as he backed up a bit.

"W-What?"

"Yamazaki... I'm so sorry... But, you really shouldn't be doing this!"

Yamazaki's eyes glowed red again and he jumped back. _"What do _you _know?"_

"Please! Just listen to me!.. I know you've been picked on by other kids in the past, but you really are a good person!"

Yamazaki's eyes returned to normal. "..Really?"

Kokoro smiled and nodded. "Yes, and besides, you don't need anything to make you strong, especially not a demon! If you just worked at it, I'm sure you could do it! And if people are too conceited to realize just how wonderful you really are, then you're too good for them! But I'm sure if you just let people get to know you, you'd be so popular you wouldn't know what to do! So what do you say..?"

"Well..."

_"No! Yamazaki! Don't listen to her! She's trying to trick you!"_

"No. She's right. I _don't _need you!"

_"Noooooooo!" _Yamazaki's eyes were glowing brighter than ever as his fingers dug into his scalp and his body struggled with the demon inside. _"I.. need.. this.. body!"_

"Too bad! Thanks Kokoro! Now I can finally take out this trash!" Nishiki then chanted his magic spell once more, and the demon was finally released and being destroyed.

_"Damn you! This is just the beginning, just you waaaaaait!.."_

After the demon was finally vanquished, Kokoro ran to Yamazaki and helped him stand. "Ugh.. Thanks, guys..." he said with a hand on his aching head.

Kokoro smiled. "No problem."

"All in a days work," said Nishiki, dusting his hands.

"But Nagahara... Did you really mean all those things you said..?" asked Yamazaki.

"Call me Kokoro. And yes, of course I did!"

Yamazaki just blushed and stared in awe at the smiling girl.

On top of a high, nearby tree branch stood the shadowy figure of Kodama, and Kujyo beside him.

"Master, did you hear the demon?"

"Yes, I did."

"It seems your visions might be accurate."

"Hm.."

Kujyo smiled. "But on a lighter note, did you notice your little sister lately? It seems she has finally figured out how she feels for Nishiki."

Kodama's eyes turned into slits. "That's a lighter note?.."

After Kokoro and Nishiki walked Yamazaki home, the two headed back for home. It had been a long day.

"Kokoro.. What do you make of what that demon said?" Nishiki asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know.. When he said that this was just the beginning.."

"Oh.. I don't know.. Why, what were you thinking?"

"I don't know... But I've got a bad feeling about it."

Kokoro looked down and didn't say anything after that. But she couldn't resist just looking at him from the corner of her eye as they walked. Even when he was acting serious he was still cute.. She blushed. "Nishiki..."

"What is it?"

"I..."

"Kokoro! There you are! You're supposed to make dinner tonight, remember?"

"B-Big brother!"

"Hurry up, I'm starving!" he called from a window.

'Grr... Kodama always ruins everything..!'

"Kokoro? Is something wrong? You look angry... Oh! What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Nothing, nothing! I'm, uh, just gonna go make dinner now!" Kokoro was blushing terribly, and so she ran inside the house and started yelling at her older brother. "Kodama, why do you always surprise me like that!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, now cook my dinner!"

"Geez! You're so lazy and ungrateful, you know that!"

"What was that!"

"You heard me!"

While all this commotion and sibling wrestling was going on, Nishiki was still just standing in the sidewalk, confused and clueless, as always. He sighed. "I just don't get it.."

Hehe, just can't end a chapter seriously, can I? Oh well, reviews, reviews! Chapter 4, on the way!


	5. 4 J is for Jealousy!

Chapter 4: "J" is for Jealousy!

The winds seemed to be picking up lately as the trees began to age with the season. Fall was here. Suddenly the wind managed to break off a few rust colored leaves from a tree branch, and they flew with the wind until they reached a particular house. The leaves gently knocked at Kokoro's window, coincidentally at the same time Kokoro's eyes opened to another Monday.

She turned. "Nishiki... Nishiki?" She sat up upon not finding him lying next to her, and she was startled to see him sitting Indian-style on the other end of the bed, facing her.

He smiled. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Kokoro blushed. "W-What are you doing?"

"Oh, I just happened to wake up earlier than usual, but you were so cute while you slept that I just had to watch you!"

Kokoro blushed even more, and after a moment, she finally noticed something. "Oh, um, why are you dressed like that?.."

"Oh, this? Since I woke up so early I was bored, so I started rummaging through all the hand-me-downs your brother gave me. You like it?"

What she saw made her speechless and go into a sort of trance. Nishiki was wearing a long sleeved, black dress shirt and black pants, and the shirt's top four buttons were unbuttoned, revealing Nishiki's sexy collar bone and part of his chest. What girl _couldn't_ like it? "It-It's nice..."

"You think?"

She shyly nodded. But just then, Kokoro noticed something else. After all these years, Nishiki never looked a day younger than her. Did that mean a shikigami could age too? "Nishiki.. I know it's an odd question but, how old are you?"

"Actually, I'm exactly the same age as you. You see, when you were born in this world, I first appeared in the Rhelm of Shikigami. Humans can only bond with one shikigami," he pointed to the mark on his cheek, "And fate never lies. From the moment you were born I've been waiting for you," he explained, smiling. (A/N: I don't really know much about shikigami, I'm just making this up, so don't get upset if stuff from here is wrong, it's just a fanfic after all :P)

Kokoro stared in wonder after hearing Nishiki's story. "Nishiki..." She lowered her head as her eyes wandered and she fidgeted with her fingers. "Um... Th-There's something I wanted to tell you..." By now she was blushing furiously.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Um... I... Nishiki, I-"

"Kokoro!" Just then, Kodama opened the door slightly and popped his head into the room. "Hey! Time to eat breakfast."

Kokoro's head was now hung low and her fist was shaking with a vein popping out. "Big brother..."

Upon seeing how furious he had gotten Kokoro, his eyes turned into slits and he smirked. "Hehe.. Better come eat before it gets cold." At that, he closed the door.

'GRR! Stupid Kodama! He probably knows how I feel and just does this on purpose to torment me!' Kokoro thought angrily to herself.

"Uh.. Kokoro? What's wrong? Don't you wanna eat breakfast?" Nishiki asked, clueless to what had gone on.

Kokoro relaxed her fist and forced a smile. "Yes.."

As the two were on their way to school, Kokoro turned to Nishiki. "Oh, you didn't change back into your regular clothes?" she said, noting he was still dressed in the black dress shirt and pants. Not that she was complaining or anything.

"What's wrong? Can't I look nice once and a while?" Nishiki said proudly. Kokoro just giggled.

"Kokoro!" a voice called out from the distance. Kokoro turned around and spotted the source of the voice. It was a boy, running towards them.

"Oh, Yamazaki!" she waved. As Yamazaki caught up to them, he stopped and panted. "Uh.. Yamazaki? Don't you live closer to the school than we do?"

He blushed. "Um.. Yeah.. But, I thought I'd like to walk to school with you.."

She smiled brightly. "That's nice of you, Yamazaki!"

He just stared at her smiling face, blushing a little more.

"So, he's your shikigami?" Yamazaki asked about Nishiki after Kokoro finished explaining everything.

She smiled and blushed slightly. "Yup. He goes everywhere with me and watches out for me, right Nishiki?" Nishiki just smiled down at Kokoro and nodded.

It was quiet for a moment as Yamazaki could only watch as the two smiled at each other, and suddenly his expression saddened.

After the three had walked a few blocks, they met up with Kaname and Misaki, as usual. And once they had talked for a while, the two welcomed the former outsider into their group.

The day went by as just another normal day, but when school had ended, since it was Kokoro and Yamazaki's turn for day duty, the teacher had assigned them to move some boxes into the utility room. The problem was, the boxes were huge! And heavy..

"Aw man! Why'd my day duty turn have to be today?" Kokoro said miserably.

"Have no fear! This is a job for Nishiki's third size!" At that, Nishiki transformed into a taller, more muscular man, and his hair had gotten a little longer, and his face looked both more fierce _and_ handsome, if that was even possible. Kokoro's cheeks were deep red as she just stared in awe at Nishiki's new form. She was familiar with his other two sizes- the bunny plush toy and of course his regular boy form, but she had never seen this size.

As Yamazaki was watching the drool practically fall out of Kokoro's hanging jaw, he found himself infuriated.

Nishiki lifted two boxes with ease. "Heh, piece of cake."

Kokoro's eyes were sparkling. "Wow, that's so amazing, Nishiki!"

'GRRRR!' Yamazaki began trying to pick up one box. "Look, Kokoro.. I can do it.. too..!" Yamazaki struggled, but he managed to at least raise the box above the ground, but soon his strength gave way and he fell over. "Ah!" The box was obviously not secured very well as all the stuff inside the box scattered all over the floor after he dropped it.

"Oh no! Yamazaki, are you okay?" Kokoro asked with concern after she had rushed to his side.

Yamazaki blushed furiously. "Uh... Yeah.."

She smiled. "That's good."

As Kokoro and Yamazaki gathered everything back into the box, Nishiki was putting up all the other boxes. By the time Kokoro and Yamazaki finished, it was the only box that was left to be put away. Yamazaki tried to pick it up again, but suddenly Nishiki grabbed it with one arm like it was nothing.

"Better let me get that." Nishiki smirked.

Yamazaki's ears turned red in anger, and a vein popped out of his head. "Humph!"

Many days and demons later, the days turned into weeks, which turned into months, with the weather getting colder every day as fall progressed to winter. What also progressed was Yamazaki's feelings for Kokoro. Yamazaki sat two seats behind in the row next to Kokoro, so he could always see her. However, Nishiki in the form of a stuffed bunny was always closer, watching her from her backpack. Yamazaki knew from what Kokoro had told him that Kokoro and Nishiki could talk within their minds, and often times Kokoro would glance down at the plush toy and smile, seemingly having a nice conversation that the rest of the world would never know about. Seeing her pretty smiling face directed at the shikigami excited, saddened, and infuriated him all at once. But still, he couldn't stop his feelings for the raven haired girl from growing, and soon it became unbearable. He just had to tell her! So after school one snowy December day, Yamazaki bravely approached her.

She was pulling up her mittens and rubbing her hands together, and then she cupped her hands over her mouth and breathed hot air into them as she tried to stay warm. She looked so cute in her big uniform jacket and scarf... These few seconds of watching Kokoro seemed a lot longer than just seconds to Yamazaki as he almost went into a daze, but then suddenly Nishiki, who was also dressed quite warmly, walked up to Kokoro and rubbed her back. "Kokoro, are you ready? We should get home before you catch a cold."

Kokoro just blushed and smiled slightly. "Oh, Nishiki, I'm fine-"

"Um.." Yamazaki interrupted. He faced Nishiki with a timid expression. "...Nishiki? Could you.. let me and Kokoro.. be alone for a bit?..." He looked to Kokoro, and suddenly his eyes showed determination. "I just need to talk to her in private."

"Hm?" Nishiki looked confused, and so he looked to Kokoro.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, really," said Kokoro.

"Okay..." Nishiki said, a little suspiciously, but he paid it no mind as he vanished into thin air.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about? Are you okay?" Kokoro asked with a friendly tone.

Yamazaki bundled his gloved hands into fists for some kind of comfort. "Kokoro... I..." He looked like he was struggling with whatever he was about to say, so Kokoro just stayed quiet and blinked with curiosity, until finally, he said it. "I love you!"

Kokoro gasped while Yamazaki just stared at her, his eyes full of tension. The two were silent for a long moment as Kokoro thought about it. When she didn't say anything, Yamazaki looked down with a troubled expression. Kokoro's face saddened, and suddenly she put her hand on his shoulder. Yamazaki just looked into her eyes with wonder. "I'm sorry," said Kokoro, "...I know it must've been hard to get up the courage to tell me, and you're a great guy, believe me!... But I'm afraid I'm in love with someone else..."

"Oh..." Yamazaki looked down, sadly, as Kokoro took her hand off his shoulder. The two just stood there for a moment, when suddenly Yamazaki spoke again. "Is it... Nishiki..?"

This caught Kokoro off guard as she blushed, but she soon managed to smile. "...Y-Yes... But... I don't really know how he feels about me yet.."

Yamazaki smiled, although inside he was still hurting badly. "I'm sure.. he feels the same way... You're so kind and wonderful to be around, how can anyone _not _love you?"

Kokoro blushed a bit at his comment. "Thanks.."

After the two had said goodbye at the school gates, Kokoro and Yamazaki walked their separate ways home for the first time in what seemed like ages.

'Alright Nishiki, you can come back now,' Kokoro said to him through her mind.

Suddenly, Nishiki popped back. "So, what'd he say?"

"He told me that he loved me."

"Loved you? You mean like a boyfriend and girlfriend?" Nishiki asked, surprised. Kokoro simply nodded. "Oh.." Nishiki suddenly found himself feeling very strange. "So, you two are.."

Kokoro shook her head. "No. I turned him down."

"You did? Why?"

"I just don't like him that way, that's all."

"Oh.." Nishiki then turned from Kokoro to look at the sky, which was very beautiful as dusk arrived. As they continued walking in silence, Nishiki found that he wasn't feeling strange any more.

Poor Yamazaki-kun lol. Next chapter, coming soon!


	6. 5 Hot Halloween!

Chapter 5: Hot Halloween

GRUUUUUMBLE

Nishiki popped up. "Where's the demon!"

A blushing Kokoro punched the back of his head. "That was my _stomach_!"

"Oh..."

"Ugh, I'm so hungry!" Kokoro whined.

"Your brother won't get paid until tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah.." Kokoro sighed and just stared at the ceiling as she lay on her bed. But after a moment, she sat up. "Come on, Nishiki! Maybe if we're lucky there will be some food in the pantry!"

The two ran downstairs into the kitchen, and Kokoro opened the pantry doors. "Lucky!" There happened to be two cups of instant ramen noodles left. "Looks like it's noodles for lunch, Nishiki!" So they took them out and filled them with water, and then put them in the microwave at the same time. Kokoro set the time to four minutes. "That should do it," said Kokoro. "Come on! We're gonna miss the latest episode of Pokémon!" At that she grabbed Nishiki's arm and dragged him upstairs to their room.

After four minutes had gone by, the microwave beeped, but Kokoro and Nishiki were so absorbed in watching Pokémon that they didn't even hear it. Kodama, however, heard it loud and clear, and when he came into the kitchen to investigate, no one was in sight. But something smelled good. He walked over to the microwave and popped it open.

"Hm, noodles." He took one of the ramen cups and shut the microwave door. "Mmm." At that he walked away, noodles hanging from mouth.

As soon as the commercials went on, Kokoro's stomach reminded them about their noodles. So they stumbled downstairs and ran into the kitchen and popped open the microwave, and they were mortified to find only one precious cup of noodles. "W-Where'd the other noodles go!" Kokoro screamed.

Just then, Kodama walked in. "You mean this?"

"GIMME that!" Kokoro snatched the cup away, only to find out that it was empty. "Kodama! You didn't even leave a single piece of a noodle!"

"Heh. You snooze you lose."

"KODAMA!" She chucked the empty foam cup at his head. It barely made a sound on foamy impact.

"Was that some kind of attack that was supposed to hurt me..?"

"GRRR!" She started beating on his chest with her fists, having no effect on him by the way, until she was interrupted by a loud, disgusting slurping sound. She turned around and saw Nishiki was eating the other noodles.

"NISHIKI! Those are MY noodles!" She started wrestling him for them.

"Nuh uh! I clearly remember that MY noodles had this tiny scratch on the cup, see! See!"

"No I don't see! Why don't you gimme those noodles so I can take a closer look!"

As they kept wrestling on the floor like wild rabid monkeys, Kodama was just trying to figure out how Nishiki had Kokoro in a headlock but Kokoro's foot was in Nishiki's face. "Jeez, they act like three year olds... Umm... Hello..?"

"That's it! I choose you, Charmander! Raah! Feel my fiery breath!" Kokoro called out, pretending to be a Charmander, complete with sound effects and all. "Char! Char!"

"Oh, yeah! Well how about this? I choose you, Pikachu! Piiiiikaaaa..CHUU!"

Kodama sweatdropped. "Are you sure you two aren't three years old..?"

Suddenly, the noodles went flying.

"AAH! YOU SPILLED MY NOODLES!"

"_MY_ _NOODLES!"_

(A/N: Sorry, had to vent out some hyperness ; )

"Many centuries ago, there lived a woman who was gifted with the power of God. People called her the Holy Maiden. Every step she took, purity followed, and she could grant or take life with one breath. Throughout her life, she stayed in her native village, and the people there loved her very much, for she would cure the sick and grant plentiful crops all year round. People from other villages would also travel many miles to receive her miracles.

But her life was not perfect. She also had the ability to "see" evil, and she was often burdened by it. And although the people of Earth revered her, the demons of Hell despised her, for while she lived, the gates of Hell were closed.

But one day, an evil witch who was insanely jealous of the Holy Maiden managed to break the gates of Hell, unleashing the vast amount of demons that had been locked away for as long as the Holy Maiden had lived. In fact, the demons were so many that the Maiden had to use every bit of her power to destroy them and the witch, and that meant destroying herself along with them.

After the Maiden's remains were gathered, they were forged into a crystal by the Maiden's daughter. The Holy Crystal, as they called it, brought the Maiden's descendants good luck and health. However, now that the Holy Maiden was dead, the gates of Hell remained open, and the Maiden's family was constantly attacked by demons. That is when her family created the art of summoning shikigami.."

Kokoro stood. "Wow, big brother, amazing! So that's how it happened!"

Kodama smirked. "Yes... But I left out one small detail..."

"Huh? What's that?"

"Hehehe... Though the Maiden's remains were cared for, the evil witch's remains were forgotten, and from then on the Holy Maiden's family has been haunted by the evil witch's ghost that seeks revenge! And that family name is... Nagahara! AHH! THE EVIL WITCH IS HERE!"

"EEEEEK!" Kokoro jumped into Nishiki's arms, while Kodama was left laughing his butt off.

"Hahaha! Kokoro you're such a scaredy-cat!"

Kokoro was still holding onto Nishiki as she trembled and her eyes were tightly shut. She finally snapped out of it though when she felt Nishiki's gentle touch and soft voice, "Kokoro.."

"Kodama, you meanie! Why'd you have to make it scary!"

"Oh come on, it wasn't that scary! Besides, it's Halloween!"

Kokoro just frowned at her big brother, until she realized what position she was in. Quickly she jumped out of Nishiki's arms, blushing. Nishiki was also blushing a little.

After an awkward moment of silence, Kodama cleared his throat and said, "Shouldn't you two be getting your costumes on? It's almost time to go trick-or-treating."

"Right! C'mon Nishiki!" Kokoro said, grabbing Nishiki's arm and pulling him to her room.

Just then Kujyo came up beside Kodama. "Shouldn't you be getting your costume too, Master?"

Kodama turned to see Kujyo wearing a bunny ears headband. She smiled at him, but he simply replied, "You know I don't do that kid's stuff."

After a few minutes, Nishiki and Kokoro finally came down. Nishiki was wearing a big Pikachu costume and Kokoro was wearing a Charmander one. Kokoro stood proudly, for she and Nishiki had made their costumes themselves. Kodama, however, was obviously not impressed. "You're _positive _you guys aren't five years old..?"

"Shut up! You know you used to watch Pokémon when you were a kid too! Come on Nishiki, let's go!" Kokoro said, dragging him by his Pikachu tail, as they grabbed their buckets and went out the door. "Bye!"

Once the door shut, Kujyo moved closer to Kodama and smiled warmly. "I remember when you used to love Pokémon..."

"Shut up."

As Nishiki and Kokoro walked down the streets, they were joined by a large group of other kids from the neighborhood, all in costumes and on a quest for candy.

"Bleh! Bleh! I vant to suck your blood!" said a little guy dressed in a vampire costume to Kokoro.

"Hey, cool! I like your costume," Kokoro replied back to the seemingly hyper kid.

As the night rolled on, Nishiki and Kokoro's buckets became increasingly full of candy, even though they would munch on some whenever possible. And still, this little kid in a vampire costume wouldn't stop bugging Kokoro.

"Bleh! Bleh!"

"Okay, okay! I get it! You're a vampire! Now leave me alone! I'm tryin' to eat candy!"

"But I am going to suck your blood!"

"Dude, you're trying too hard," said Nishiki, with a mouth full of chocolate.

"Yeah, don't you think you're taking this Halloween stuff a little too seriously?" munch munch

"Bleh... Keep your shikigami out of this..."

Both Nishiki and Kokoro were taken aback. They stopped and let all the other kids walk away. "What did you say?" said Nishiki.

The little vampire guy pulled his cape over his face so that only his eyes were showing. "I said... Keep out of this.." His eyes glowed red, "Shikigami..."

Nishiki's eyes turned to slits. "You have _got _to be kidding me..."

At that, the unusual demon leapt up and flapped his cape, sending out a wave of energy towards the two.

Nishiki quickly covered Kokoro and easily blocked his attack. "Great. Just what we needed on Halloween.. An annoying little demon." At that, Nishiki started chanting his incantation, and before long the demon was vanquished.

Kokoro sighed. "What a lame excuse for a demon.. Now we've lost track of the group because of him! Come on, let's hurry and catch up!"

"Wait!" Nishiki said, and quickly he pulled Kokoro back just in time to avoid a falling tree branch.

"W-What's that!" The tree branch was on fire. The two quickly looked up and saw that some of the trees were burning, and the flames were spreading rapidly.

Suddenly, Kokoro gasped. Nishiki turned instantly. "Kokoro! What-AGH!"

"Agghhh! Nishiki help!" Kokoro's costume was on fire. Without any second thoughts, Nishiki ripped the costume off her, but as soon as he did so, he felt something whisk past him, and soon his costume was on fire too.

After ripping off his costume, he turned towards Kokoro. "Kokoro, are you o... Kokoro!" Kokoro was kneeling on the ground, holding her arm and looking like she was in pain, so Nishiki ran to her side. "Kokoro, what's wrong?"

"Ow... Nishiki... My arm..."

"Here, let me see.." Nishiki carefully got a hold of her arm and noticed it was burned. It pained him to see her hurt, because he was supposed to be there to protect her. He felt even worse for having to rip apart the costumes that they had worked so hard on to make. But shrugging all that stuff out of the way, he decided to start a healing spell on her arm.

However, only a few moments after Nishiki had started the spell, another demon emerged. This time though, the demon was a lot more formidable it seemed.

"A fire demon!" Nishiki said bitterly. Instead of responding verbally, the demon responded with a growl and a fire attack, which Nishiki shielded off. "How dare you... Destroying our beloved costumes is one thing, but hurting Kokoro... That is unforgivable!"

At his words, Kokoro blushed and just watched as Nishiki quickly vanquished the demon with one powerful blow...

"Kokoro, are you alright? Does your arm still hurt?" Nishiki asked tenderly.

"A little..."

Nishiki gently helped Kokoro up, and they started walking home. But as they walked, little did they know that they were being watched by two beady red eyes. The eyes of a crow that seemed ordinary enough. But as the two turned around the corner and escaped the bird's sight, it crowed and flapped its jet black wings until it was flying. From there, the crow flew to one particular tree, and landed on the arm of a dark, yet familiar cloaked figure. A few strands of curly, pink hair escaped from the cover of the cloak. The bird made a crowing noise again.

"Hm, what did you see, pretty crow?" Asked the feminine voice. Upon looking into the crow's eyes, she could see Kokoro and Nishiki talking. "Feh, what does he see in her? She's just a human... All humans are worthless.. I don't know why the rest of my kind hasn't figured that out yet!" she said coldly. "Ah well.." She gently stroked the crow's back. "Soon, we won't have to worry about any humans, will we?"

The crow made a shriek as it suddenly flew away, literally disappearing into the dark sky.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry..."

"It's okay..."

Kokoro and Nishiki were now at home, in their room, and Nishiki was tending to Kokoro's burn. Even with magic a burn was still hard to heal, so Nishiki was resorting to the old fashioned stuff.

After her bandages were wrapped, Kokoro spoke. "Thank you... for everything, Nishiki..."

He smiled. "It's no problem." He started putting away all the stuff from the first-aid kit, and when he turned to Kokoro again, she looked away.

"Won't... you come and sit next to me?.." She was blushing just little.

Nishiki stayed still for a moment, but he was happy to meet her request. He crawled onto the bed and sat beside her. Since her bed was so close to the wall, they could sit up against the wall with their pillows for cushioning.

_"That is unforgivable!" _The phrase was ringing through Kokoro's mind as she reflected upon that scene. Suddenly, Kokoro's eyes closed and she leaned against Nishiki's warm shoulder and drifted off into sleep. She was truly exhausted. "Nishiki..." she said softly in her sleep.

Nishiki smiled warmly at the sleeping girl and cuddled closer, closing his eyes as well...

THE NEXT DAY

"Ooowwww! My arm is better but my teeth huuuuurt!" Kokoro whined.

"Mine too!" Nishiki whined back.

"Well, that's what you two get for eating so much candy," Kodama said plainly as the two continued moaning all over the place.

Kokoro started crying like a baby. "Ohh... Why does everything always have to happen to me?"

Cute chappie, ne? Reviews!

I really should do fanart for this chapter, but, I'm too lazy right now! . 


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